Sunday, January 4, 2015

Live Alone and Like It, a "Classic Guide for the Single Woman" of 1936

Live Alone and Like It, Marjorie Hillis

This "Classic Guide for the Single Woman," first published in 1936, is one of the brightest and funniest books that I've read in a long time.  According to the author's note, Marjorie Hillis worked for Vogue, eventually becoming an assistant editor.  She was part of the rise of a class of professional women in early 20th-century America, many of whom lived away from family and on their own - both major social changes.  Her book is aimed at her fellow workers, as well as those women who through chance or circumstance ended up living alone.  It includes a lot of practical information, some a bit dated, but other sections that wouldn't be out of place in this month's Oprah magazine.  It's the tone though that makes this such a delight.  Here is the opening of the first chapter, "Solitary Refinement":
    This book is no brief in favor of living alone. Five out of ten people who do so can't help themselves, and at least three of the others are irritatingly selfish. But the chances are that at some time in your life, possibly only now and then between husbands, you will find yourself settling down to a solitary existence.
    You may do it from choice. Lots of people do - more and more every year.  Most of them think that they are making a fine modern gesture and, along about the second month, frequently wish they hadn't.
     Or you may - though of course you don't - belong to the great army of Lonely Hearts with nobody to love them. This is a group to which no one with any gumption need belong for more than a couple of weeks, but in which a great many people settle permanently and gloomily.
I loved the bracing mix of snark and hard common sense in those paragraphs, which set the tone for the rest of the book.  In the next, Ms. Hillis laid out the philosophy and purpose of her book:
The point is that there is a technique about living alone successfully, as there is about doing anything really well.  Whether you view your one-woman ménage as Doom or Adventure (and whether you are twenty-six or sixty-six), you need a plan, if you are going to make the best of it.
She was a strong advocate for independence and self-determination, writing "You have got to decide what kind of life you want and then make it for yourself."  It should be a life that brings enjoyment and fulfillment.  Her book covers what she saw as key elements in a plan for successful living.  The most important is to build relationships, friendships as much as romance.  (Refreshingly, if this book isn't a brief for living alone, it also does not assume that all women will or should marry, nor is it a husband-hunting guide.)  She included advice on dressing well, furnishing and decorating a home (of any size, including a studio apartment), cooking and eating for one, and entertaining.  There is also very practical advice about living on a budget, and the need for savings, particularly in planning for retirement.  All of this makes for an interesting social history of life in the 1930s.

Each chapter ends with case studies, illustrating the topics covered in the chapter.  They contrast women who have made happy lives for themselves with others who can't be bothered, or those who feel too sorry for themselves to even try.  One of my favorites was Mrs. C of Chicago, recently widowed,
who weighed the advantages of being a widow in one place or the other and decided that her choice was between frills in her home town and necessities in Chicago. Knowing herself better than most of us do, she took the frills and returned, sleek and slim in widow's weeds, to her native town. . . She has become a Character and will some day become a Legend.  And since Mrs C loves popularity and adores fame, and would have had little of either in Chicago, we salute her as a lady who knew what she wanted and got it.
Ms. Hillis was a great advocate of comfort and even luxury, within one's budget.  She laid it down as dogma that single women should have their breakfasts in bed, even (or especially) if they were going on to some less-than-exciting job.  "[B]e an elegant lady of leisure just the same, from, say, seven-forty-five to eight-fifteen. Even though nobody knows, you'll be more of a person the rest of the day."  Of course, to truly enjoy that luxury, one's bedroom should be as comfortable and well-furnished as possible.
It is probably true that most people have more fun in bed than anywhere else, and we are not being vulgar . . . We are all for as much glamour as possible in the bedroom. The single bedroom, as well as the double one.  If even the most respectable spinsters would regard their bedrooms as places where anything might happen, the resulting effects would be extremely beneficial.
The temptation is to go on quoting from this racy, pithy little book.  I'll stop here, and just leave you with the titles of a few of the chapters, which might tempt you in turn: "When a Lady Needs a Friend," "Setting for a Solo Act," and "A Lady and Her Liquor."

30 comments:

  1. I think this is the book I read a few years ago, or it was one like it - if so, it was wonderful!

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    1. Audrey, if there's another one like this, I want to read it too :)

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  2. I just read this book and loved it! It made me want to buy fancy pajamas and eat all my meals elegantly in bed.

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    1. elizabeth, I'd have to fight cats off from the breakfast tray, and even without them I'd spill things. But it does sound luxurious, especially as I think about getting up for work tomorrow.

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  3. Oh my goodness this sounds fantastic! I don't think breakfast in bed would survive my cats, either, but I'd love to try. :-)

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    1. All you need is a tray :) I've always wanted one of those wicker ones, with a side pocket for the newspaper, the kind that stands on little legs.

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  4. I think I'd really enjoy this - going to try and get a copy :)

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    1. The edition I read is a 2006 reprint, so hopefully you'll be able to find a copy without too much trouble!

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  5. This looks so fun! I'll definitely be looking out for it.

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    1. It was perfect reading on a grey winter's day - except it made me want to go out and buy stuff, to spruce up my one-woman ménage :)

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  6. Guaranteed to make one laugh by the sound of it. I could do with one like this right now - my reading has been full of ghastly people.

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    1. Oh absolutely, Cat! The case studies are so funny. I'm embroiled in Victorian melodrama myself now - with a wicked seducer.

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  7. I'm all for elegant solo living but it seems to me that the *essence* of breakfast in bed is that somebody else makes it and brings it to you. How about breakfast on the balcony (or in front of the window in bad weather) on your little bistro table with a flower in a vase instead?

    -Susan F

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    1. Susan, I agree with you. But the author is convinced that women only have toast, black coffee & orange juice for breakfast, so in her view it is very easy to pop out of bed, fix the toast & coffee, and pop back into bed with the tray - after you have fluffed up the pillows & put on your fetching wrapper of course :)

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    2. You could always prepare a tray the night before and have something like warmed brioches or croissants and jam with fruit juice and coffee, that wouldn't take much 'making' and it would be lovely to have that in bed.
      Margaret P

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    3. I think that goes to her point that you need to have a plan. That kind of breakfast (and luxury) needs thinking ahead. That's one of the points in her book that I keep coming back to.

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  8. I love this sort of book! I've had this one in particular on my TBR list for years but never managed to read it when I was living alone (though I managed to sort of like that state even without the book to advise me). Must track it down soon as it sounds very fun!

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  9. Claire, I think I've got a very comfortable set-up, but nowhere near the elegance the author expects :) I think you would enjoy this!

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  10. I absolutely want to get a copy of this book--Marjorie Hillis is a kick (I like the mix of snark and common sense, as you put it), and the quotes are fabulous. Where on earth do you uncover these gems? Just priceless and so insightful into the working woman's life in the 1930s.

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    1. Jane, I read something about it on The Toast site & instantly rushed off to order a copy. Ms. Hillis was also a big advocate of reading, so that's another plus!

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  11. THIS book! This book! My friend had this book when I visited years ago, and I could not think of its title for years. I got this book called Saucepans and the Single Girl, which is a totally different and not-as-awesome thing. THIS book! Thank you for reminding me of its title! I will BUY it.

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    1. Jenny, that has happened to me and it is such an awful feeling! I'm glad I could help you find it again :)

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  12. "possibly only now and then between husbands" - I love her tone so much! Definitely a book for me. Have you read 'Sex and the Single Girl' by Helen Gurley Brown? - a similar idea but from the early 60s. There's also a lovely M. F. K. Fisher essay on the pleasures of dining alone (a topic which always seems to come up at least once a year as an 'issue' still relevant for women). It's remarkable how little things change, even though the world has apparently changed!

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    1. vicki, I had pretty much fallen in love with the book by the end of that first paragraph, even though I am one of the "others [who] are irritatingly selfish." I haven't read Sex & the Single Girl, though I've seen bits of the film version. I imagine a few things had changed by then! but certainly not everything.

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  13. I'm impressed by how many people know this book. It looks (and sounds) like the kind of book I often see in antique shops. It also sounds like lots of fun.

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    1. I was surprised how up to date it felt in some places, for a book from the 1930s. It reminded of Dorothy Parker in spots - the acidic tone, never sentimental or sappy. Though you're not the target audience :) I'm sure you'd enjoy it!

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  14. This is so fun! Thanks for the heads up, will definitely try to hunt this down. The breakfast in bed thingy reminds me of one scene in Downton Abbey whereby Lady Edith laments that she can't be expected to have the luxury of having her breakfast sent to her in bed because she is not married!

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    1. There's a line like that in Gosford Park, michelle, which was also written by Julian Fellowes, to the effect that "unmarried girls don't get breakfast trays in this house." This was reprinted recently, so I hope you don't have too much trouble finding a copy.

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  15. I've just bought this having seen the recommendation by Claire on The Captive Reader. It's great, and I've now bought Orchids on Your Budget. I'm a great believer in life's luxuries. One only regrets one's economies! Margaret P

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Margaret. I'm glad you're enjoying this! I've bought a copy of the second book - mine is Bubbly on Your Budget. I think there's also a third one, something about recovering after loss. If so, I'll be reading it as well!

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!